Refuse collector



May 3, 1949.

A. T. c. DEARr REFUSE COLLECTOR Filed May 51, 1946 ALCXANDE'R THOMAS CAMERON DEAR 4. ATTORNEY.

Patented May 3, 1949 2,469,033A REFUSE COLLECTOR'k i Alexander Thomas Cameron Dean: HillJTopgvvsWesti Bromwich, vvvEngland,` assignor to Lewin. fRoadfi Sweepers Limited,'West Bromwich, EnglamL-a;

British company ApplicationiMay 31,1946, -Seral 'No.*6'7'33'698L Ink Great Britain May A'7,"1946 7 claims. (c1. :n4-83.32")

This".im/entionv` relates; .torrefusenv collectors of the: kindlcomprisingsa hollow receptacle having atl'oneendan openingffor the-"receptionlof refuse, feedingmeans adjacent to'saidopening adapted tdlfeed lthenrefuse fronpfsaid opening into the interiorof the receptacle-and todischarge the refuse'therefrom';=za:shaft extending from said feeding-.means to theaend .of .said receptacle opposite to the. saidzfopening, ,said shaft and receptaclebeing rotatable relatively to rotate said feedingimeans relative to .said'receptacle and thus feed or discharge the refuselinto or out of the rece'ptaclefaccording to thev direction of relative rotation.`

Usually with refuse collectors of the above kind thefreceptacle comprises a hollow substantially horizontal cylinder. havinganl opening at one end, the-cylinderbeingy mounted for rotation about itsvlongitudinal centralaxis, the shaft extending along .said axis f anda. being supported rotatably fromlthe cylinder, the feeding means comprising a .helical screw ofa: diameter larger than the diameter of,` the opening-:and somewhat smaller than the internal diameter of the cylindrical recptacle. Usually the cylinder is mounted upon a Ichassis which isladapted for road propulsion.

With refuse collectors of thekind hereinbefore specifiedthe rotation of thefeedingmeans and receptacle relatively'serves both to load the refuse into the interior-ofthereceptacle and also t unload the samewhen're'quired but during such operation refuse of `elongated conguration such as wire, rope or string; articlesof clothing and` sd'rforth, tend to wind-'around the shaft while this is Yrotating (relative tofthew receptacle) and thus elongated objects becomeV tightly wound around the'shaft and impede the loading and unloading of= the refuse.

Therobject of'thisV-invention vis to provide an improved construction of refuse collector of the above kind inwhich this difculty is less likely tob'e encountered'than heretofore.

Referring to the drawings--` Figure'l'is a sidev elevation.v taken partly in section of.- a'roadf'vehic'le embodying a refuse collector `constructed in accordance with this invention. i

Figures 2 anday 3'. are enlarged detailed cross sectzinviewfof` the samevconstruction.

Iii-the drawingfth'ere is'de'picted a'road vehicle off7 thegeneral'conventional. kind includingv a chassis I0Y`-upon` whichj immediately behind -the drivingscompartment 'I I is mounted a hollow body I2fofff elongatedconii'gurationv within which is housed: the l'receptacle tI 3 which? is in the form off l an elongated hollow-metalfcylinder arranged .withr its central longitudinal artist-horizontale` and .i ex-` tending parallell to: thee-lengthfof *the vehicle.v

This cylinder is mounted onfthe -chassis in theV ing supported therefrom upon a number of rollers ...-l

indicated diagrammaticallygfatw IIIfy and means,`

not shown in the drawing are --provided for `posi v tively rotating the .cylindrical-lf receptacle;

The latter is further provided-tat yits rear: end.

with an openings I5'forf. the reception and dis-'- charge of the refuse; vwhichopeningehas a diameter substantially smaller than 4the 'internal diamy eter ofthe receptacle;1 andzfdisposedfrwithinthe lattera short distance-'inwardly from the opening is refuse feedingwmeans'fin ythe form lofa and relative to 'the receptacle fromfmeans not shown `in the drawings The forwardV end of the--receptaclehas secured to its inner face .aisupporting'ahousing -22 oflhol-l-iV low frusto-conical form,=the rear end of; the housing being of smaller diameter -and carryingfa.

bearing 23 which provides-iarotatablesupportt for the shaft I9 :at:aapositiontfrearward `offtheVl forward end 20 of'the receptaclefz The portion of the shaft IS which extends rea-r wardly from the bearinguZ 3- is -nexible to permit of a certain movement: of the feeding means/ISL in a directionradiallyfofftheashaft axisrwithinv the limits imposed: by; the interior-wor:thewreeceptacle I3 so'as to*acilitateiloadingnor unload-1 ing small' solid 'objectswhichmay otherwisevbe come jammed-between",the periphery-v of" the blades I'I and-the` adjacent interior-ofthe-receptacle.

The supportingI housing-22 Fand the" vhollow hub I8 provide housings for those epa'rtsof athesh'a'ft whichf they surroundeandfare or: an; external diameter substantially't la-r'gemthan theftdiameter of Athe shaft' as will `be2-apparent froni Figures' 2 and 3 of the drawing;A andrin` accordancerwith'f the present inventionfthat-part' of the shaft whicli' 1.

extends between-th`e` vtubular'hub: I Sandl'the nous-f ing 22 is enclosedwwithinfa isleve'iZdsalso of anis external "diameter"substantiallyaflarger 4:thanx thie@V :diameterfo theishaftxthe'fsleevehavingithe saines`- external diameter as the tubular hub I8, and the smaller rear end of the housing 22 having the same external diameter as that of the sleeve.

The sleeve is formed of metal of relatively thin section and the length of the sleeve is such that it encloses a substantial proportion of the entire length of the shaft I9.

Each end of the sleeve is secured to the exterior of an annular flange 25 of a bearing 2t, the bearing having a central hub 27 rotatably mounted upon the shaft I9 so that the sleeve can rotate freely around the shaft and relative also to the cylindrical receptacle I3.

Each bearing 26 at the end thereof opposite 'to the flange 25 is formed with an annular groove 28 in Which is housed a corresponding packing element 29, the latter engaging the adjacent face of the hub I8 or bearing 23 respectively and thus preventing dust from passing to the bearing hubs 2'I while the small gap 3l] between each sleeve bearing 26 and the adjacent end of the hub I8 or bearing 23 is covered by the flat-sectioned rings 3| secured one to the rear bearing 26 and the other to the bearing 23.

The sleeve is unsupported from the shaft intermediate its ends so that it interferes to the minimum degree with the radial flexing of the shaft and such flexing is permitted also by the small gaps 30 aforesaid and also by recessing each bearing hub 2l internally for the greater portion of its length as indicated at 32 so that the hubs engage with the shaft I9 over only a small portion of their length.

The cylindrical receptacle I3 is further provided internally in the known manner with a helical rib 33 for the purpose of facilitating the discharge of the refuse when desired through the opening I5 in the known manner.

With the above described arrangement it will be seen that the shaft I9 is completely enclosed within a housing of a diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the shaft and the provision of this larger diameter housing alone reduces appreciably as compared with existing constructions of the above kind the chances of elongated objects becoming wound tightly as aforesaid, while su-ch winding is still further prevented by reason of the fact that part of the housing consists of the sleeve 22E Which is mounted for free rotation about the shaft axis and relative to the cylindrical receptacle. Thus if any elongated objects commence to wind around the sleeve 24 they impart a torque thereto causing the sleeve to rotate and prevent further winding.

Although I have described a construction in which only part of the shaft which extends inwardly from the feeding means I6 is enclosed within the rotatable sleeve 24, the remainder being enclosed within the non-rotatable housing 22, it is within the scope of the invention that the rotatable sleeve 2li should extend from the feeding means right up to the forward end 2li of the receptacle, the bearing 23 and tubular sup porting housing 22 therefor being omitted.

What I claim then is:

1. In a refuse collector of the kind specified, the provision of a housing enclosing the feeding means shaft, said housing having an external diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the shaft, said housing including a sleeve of corresponding diameter extending for at least a substantial proportion of the length of the shaft, said sleeve extending continuously and completely around said shaft throughout the entire 4 length of said sleeve, and means supporting said sleeve for free rotation about the axis of the shaft and relative to the receptacle.

In a refuse collector of the kind specified, the provision of a housing enclosing the feeding means shaft, said housing having an external diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the shaft, said housing including a sleeve of corresponding diameter extending for at least a substantial proportion of the length of the shaft, said sleeve extending continuously and completely around said shaft throughout the entire length of said sleeve, said sleeve being connected only to said shaft, and bearing means supporting said sleeve rotatably from said shaft so that it can rotate freely around the shaft and relative to said receptacle.

3. In a refuse collector of theI kind specified, the provision of a housing enclosing the feeding nie-ans shaft, said housing having an external diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the shaft, said housing including a sleeve oi' corresponding diameter extending inwardly of the receptacle from said feeding means for at least a substantial proportion of the length of the shai't, bearings between the shaft and the two ends of the sleeve supporting said sleeve for free rotation around the shaft and relative to said receptacle, said shaft being flexible and unsupported near the opening of the receptacle, and said bearings engaging the shaft over a very short length thereof.

4. In a refuse collector of the kind specified, the provision of a housing enclosing the feeding means shaft, said housing having an external diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the shaft, a bearing supporting said shaft intermediate the ends thereof, said housing comprising a tubular portion extending between said bearing and the end of the receptacle remote from the opening thereof and attached rigidly to said end, said housing comprising also a sleeve extending between said bearing and said feeding means, said sleeve having an external diameter substantially greater than the diameter of said shaft, and means supporting said sleeve rotatably from said shaft.

5. In a refuse collector of the kind specified, the provision of a housing enclosing the feeding means shaft, said housing having an external diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the shaft, a bearing supporting said shaft intermediate the ends thereof, said housing comprising a tubular portion extending between said bearing and the end of the receptacle remote from the opening thereof and attached rigidly to said end, said housing comprising also a sleeve extending between said bearing and said feeding means, said shaft being exible and unsupported near the opening of the receptacle, further bearings between the two ends of the sleeve and the shaft, supporting the sleeve rotatably on the shaft, said further bearings engaging the shaft over a very short length thereof and said sleeve having an external diameter substantially greater than the diameter of said shaft.

6. A refuse collector comprising a hollow substantially horizontal cylindrical receptacle having an opening at one end, a helical feeding means mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the cylinder and disposed adjacent to said opening, a rotatable shaft extending from the opposite end of the cylindrical receptacle longitudinally thereof and carrying the feeding means at its free end, a housing enclosing said shaft, said housing having an external diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the shaft, said housing including a tubular portion secured at one end to the said opposite end of the receptacle and carrying at its upper end a bearing supporting said shaft intermediate the ends thereof, said housing including also a sleeve of corresponding diameter extending from said bearing to said feeding means, a bearing between each end of said sleeve and said shaft, a hub on the end of said shaft carrying said feeding means, said hub having an external diameter corresponding to the external diameter of said sleeve, said shaft being flexible, said sleeve and bearings therefor being spaced slightly at each end and in a direction axially of the shaft from said xed housing and from said hub, rings mounted on one of these members of a diameter slightly greater than the external diameter of the sleeve extending around each of said spaces.

7. A refuse collector comprising a hollow substantially horizontal cylindrical receptacle having an opening at one end, a helical feeding means mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the cylinder and disposed adjacent to said opening, a rotatable shaft extending from the opposite end Iof the cylindrical receptacle longitudinally thereof and carrying the feeding means at its free end, a housing enclosing said shaft, said housing having an external diameter substantially larger than the diameter of the shaft, said housing including a tubular portion secured at one end to the said opposite end of the receptacle and carrying at its upper end a bearing supporting said shaft intermediate the ends thereof, said housing including also a sleeve of corresponding diameter extending from said bearing to said feeding means, said sleeve extending continuously and completely around said shaft throughout the entire length of said sleeve, a bearing between each end of said sleeve and said shaft supporting said sleeve for free rotation around said shaft and relative to said receptacle.

ALEXANDER THOMAS CAMERON DEAR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

